Aerialtronics Improves UAV Safety With Collision Avoidance System

from aerialtronics.com

Aerialtronics has announced today that it will be incorporating the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) in its new Collision Avoidance System (CAS). Developed by NXP in cooperation with the automotive industry ITS gives vehicles and infrastructure a ‘virtual sensor’, whereby vehicles can build “mental maps” of surrounding traffic, to avoid incidents and improve safety. By combining the information from these virtual sensors with the collision avoidance system, Aerialtronics’ Altura aircraft will be the first to both automatically communicate and respond to other (air) traffic participants.

One of the most important things about operating an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is the constant assessment of the environment the system operates in. During a flight, operators are responsible for making sure that the system stays clear of both moving as well as static elements. Whilst existing collision avoidance systems can prevent the system from contact with other structures, there is currently no system that could actually see another object approach, as is the case with other UAS.

The Aerialtronics CAS will be capable of ultra-quick real-time scanning of the Altura multirotor surroundings and detecting obstacles within a predefined safe distance. Following detection and classification of the obstacle CAS will automatically adjust the aircraft’s position to prevent collision. By connecting ITS data to CAS, Altura systems will be capable of foreseeing danger and responding in a timelier manner, ultimately making airspace safer and more accessible.

CAS will consist of several unique technologies including various types of state of the art obstacle detection sensors, advanced data fusion algorithms as well as tightly integrated collision avoidance algorithms with guidance, navigation and control system. The next generation CAS will enable fully automatic yet safe inspection even in high wind environments typically present during industrial inspections. Smart sensor fusion algorithms will allow better performance, obstacle identification, and more efficient avoidance trajectories, even in harsh environments with less power consumption of the overall vehicle.

The new Aerialtronics CAS system is expected to be introduced in 2015.

Check out the prototype in action:

Aerialtronics Collision Avoidance – prototype testflight from Aerialtronics on Vimeo.

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